The dreaded vote of confidence has become a death knell for coaches. Mike Brown was a recent example of that. The Lakers assured Brown he’d stick in Los Angeles only to fire him five games into the season.

Now the Phoenix Suns have expressed belief in Alvin Gentry despite a 7-15 record and seven straight losses.

"We've got confidence in our coaching staff and we're not considering making changes," Suns owner Robert Sarver said, according to ESPN.com.

Gentry has been coach in Phoenix since Terry Porter was fired near the end of the 2008-09 season. With Steve Nash at point guard, the Suns went to the Western Conference finals in Gentry’s first full season.

Losing Nash to the Los Angeles Lakers in a sign-and-trade deal this offseason was a big hit to the Suns’ identity, though his departure was only one of several franchise-altering moves in Phoenix.

The Suns infused their roster with new players in the offseason but have failed to right the ship thus far. An unsuccessful pursuit of Hornets guard Eric Gordon was followed by the signings of Goran Dragic, Michael Beasley and Luis Scola.

None of their moves have yielded significant effect on the win column in Phoenix. Considering the cursory nature in which the Suns compiled their roster, Sarver remains optimistic time will help improve chemistry and performance.

"It's still early in the season," he said. "We're playing worse than our talent, and a lot of that has to do with confidence. It's up to the coaches and players to start playing better and to get that swagger back and turn things around. Things can turn quickly in this league."